Psalm 24

Psalm 24:1-4
The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who do not put their trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

In this Psalm, David compares the distance between unholy and holy in terms a steep climb up the mountain of God. Who can climb a mountain so steep? An even greater challenge awaits us at the top of the summit. Who can stand in God’s holy presence? The Psalm provides an answer. Only those with clean hands, a pure heart and trust in the true God can ascend. In the next verse, David rejoices in the blessing that comes from God our Savior. Don’t miss the irony of this beautiful picture of grace. We struggle with the climb. God knows it. The Gospels fill in some necessary details about our climb. Rather than make the climb easier, God descended. God came down and made His dwelling among us. He did not forsake His holiness. He brought His glory to where we are and revealed grace and truth in human form. Through His sacrificial death Jesus washes our hands and purifies our hearts. Then, after dying for our sins and rising from the dead, “He ascended”. Jesus came down from the “mountain of the LORD” and Jesus leads the way for us to enter into His holy presence. Now, we are left to answer the question. Will you put your trust in Him?

Holiness

Leviticus 11:44
For I am the Lord your God. You shall therefore consecrate yourselves, and you shall be holy; for I am holy.

As I make my way through the Old Testament preparing for messages on Sundays, I have arrived at Leviticus. Leviticus can be one of the most challenging books in the Bible. Too often we feel a distance between the details of the sacrificial system contained in Leviticus and our contemporary situation. Yet, in the study of Leviticus, we discover a message that cannot be overlooked. Leviticus offers a stark truth that is often dismissed in our world today. God is holy and His expectation is that we are to be holy. For some reason, we seem to feel comfortable dismissing the standard of holiness along with the details of the priestly service of the Levites. We treat the idea of a holy life as obsolete. But, that is a grave mistake. In fact, I believe we can learn a practical lesson from the details contained in Leviticus. No, I am not advocating a return to the sacrificial system of Leviticus. Jesus has provided a sacrifice for sins once and for all. But, I do believe we need to recover the connection between holiness and our daily life. Jesus prayed that we would be “in the world but not of the world”. His prayer reminds us that holiness is not about isolation. It is a way to commune in a sacred relationship with God even while surrounded by an “unholy” world. It is our privilege and calling to reflect God’s holy character on a daily basis. Impossible? Not really. The Apostle Peter reminded the early church that God has given us “everything we need for a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3).

Trust

Timothy Willard and Jason Locy set the stage for a compelling question about our willingness to trust Jesus on a daily basis.

"Think of Jesus, the Son—God among us. In the Gospels, we see him traveling with his disciples, healing lepers, helping prostitutes, touching blind eyes, telling riddles, celebrating at a wedding feast, weeping for a friend, violently protecting the sacred, praying alone on a mountainside, speaking to the wind and calming the storm, cooking fish for Peter and the disciples on the beach, face to face with Satan, baptized by his second cousin, eating and drinking with the corrupt and wicked, challenging his friends to follow him to death, abandoned by those closest to him, beaten, spit on, condemned, and silent. Is he not someone in whom we can relate? Is he not someone in whom we can trust? Was killing him not enough for us to see his humanity? Was his resurrection not enough to strike our hearts with awe and thanksgiving?"

I can't be still

Exodus 14:14
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

It’s a short verse that paints a big picture. Like so much of the Bible, there is part that we love and a part that we love to ignore. We love to hear that “the Lord will fight for us”. We are not so excited about the command to “be still”. “Be still” is hard for us to receive. When we are in a threatening situation everything within us wants to run rather than to be still. In our distorted way of thinking, movement means relief. Busyness promises relief. This is clear in the context of Exodus 14. The Israelites were trapped between a rock and a hard place. Specifically, they were trapped between an Egyptian army and the sea. Their response was twofold. First, they were terrified. Note to self…I rarely make my best decisions when I’m terrified. Second, they decided that they preferred slavery in Egypt. Again, not the best thought process. Maybe that’s why the Lord wanted them to “be still”. Take time to read Exodus 13. Why were they staring at the sea and the army instead of the pillar of cloud and fire? The Israelites needed to remember that God was with them. We do too. They needed to catch their breath before they ran in the wrong direction. We do too. It’s interesting that the next instruction from the Lord was for the people to “move on”. So, taken in sequence the Lord told them to “be still” and then “move on” in the proper direction. Not a bad pattern to follow in life. Don’t move until you have taken the time to recognize God’s presence. Don’t allow a threatening situation (or any other situation) to set your course this week. First, be still and look to God. Then, follow His lead.

Real Leadership is dangerous

They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
Exodus 14:11-12

I have enjoyed the opportunity to address some doctoral students in seminary regarding leadership this week. It's been great to engage in some rich dialogue about leadership in the 21st century. What is the profile of a great leader? Would you include Moses on your top ten list of great leaders? The Bible provides a substantial historical biography of Moses. What does it take to be a great leader? The list of virtues is long. But, do not forget to include "courage". Leadership requires courage. No matter how noble the quest, how clear the need for change or how large or small the team, the life of Moses shows us why leadership is dangerous. Leadership involves asking people to change. Movement toward a promising future requires a departure from the familiar present. In the words of Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky,

“You appear dangerous to people when you question their values, beliefs, or habits of a lifetime. You place yourself on the line when you tell people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear. Although you may see with clarity and passion a promising future of progress and gain, people will see with equal passion the losses you are asking them to sustain.” (Heifetz and Linsky, 2002, Leadership on the Line)

Omnipresence

“I don’t want to talk about you like you’re not in the room.”
Jesus Culture from the song You won’t relent

I am struck by the words of Exodus 2:23-25. Read the passage carefully.

“During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

Exodus is a fascinating journal of God’s deliverance. Chapter two announces the birth of a baby boy who is given the name "Moses". We know him as the great deliverer of God's people. But, at the end of chapter two, it seemed that Moses had missed the mark and deliverance was far from imminent. In the midst of the chapter, Moses fled from Pharaoh to Midian. His sentiment is expressed in the name of his son Gershom which means "I have become an alien in a foreign land". Yet, it is at the end of the chapter we read that God “heard”; God “remembered”; God “looked” and God was “concerned” about His people. How often do we ruminate on the presumed distance of God rather than trusting that He is near? In the next chapter of Exodus, God speaks to Moses from a burning bush. Exodus 3:7 is a restatement of the powerful words at the end of Chapter Two. God told Moses "I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, I have heard them crying...and I am concerned about their suffering" I love the words of the Jesus Culture song “You won’t relent”. Indeed "I don’t want to talk about God as if He is not in the room". I don't want to forget that God sees His people. God hears our cries. The omnipresence of God is beyond our comprehension. It doesn't change the fact that no matter where we are today. God is in the room.

Rookie

We are beginning a journey through the Bible on Sunday mornings. When we dig into the rich message of each book, we should expect to be changed. We should expect to “grow up” a bit in our spiritual lives. It’s football season. Every year coaches talk about the “veteran” players and the young players that need to be developed. When Jesus called disciples to follow Him it’s pretty clear that they were rookies. They were freshmen in the discipleship process. Undaunted by their lack of experience, Jesus proceeded to engage a select group of people on a transformational journey. He has called each of us to join the same journey. The humanity of Jesus’ disciples is well-documented. The characterization of the twelve is colorful and verges on embarrassment. Yet, Jesus invested in their lives. It was an intentional strategic process that resulted in radical and explosive change. When we take the time to read about the process we learn that Jesus faced some challenges that are common to all leaders. Consequently, we can learn from His response to those challenges and His love for His disciples. Probably would make a good leadership book. Mixed with a bit of sarcasm we can come up with some prospective chapter titles. Which chapter is for you?

1. Misguided Passion: Reigning in a quick response instead of raining down fire on others. (James and John: aka The Sons of Thunder)
2. Revelation and Impulse: Jesus, You are the One and Only and You can count on me unless you ask me at the wrong time. (Peter)
3. I doubt it but you can prove-it-to-me. (Thomas)
4. Pre-maturity (How to mix very little prayer and very little fasting and produce very little faith)
5. How to move from Fearless to Fearful and back to Fearless in a day or less.